Sex Ed: Newsies Style
by stillgoldie1899
Summary: Jack and Sarah, married a few months, have announced they're expecting a baby. A group of the younger boys, led by Les, are curious how that happened. No one seems to want to explain it, though.


"But how'd she -get- pregnant?" Les was the only one unafraid to voice what the younger boys were all wondering.

It had been three months since Jack and Sarah had gotten married, and while Les was 'near 12', he wasn't as worldly wise as the other boys more his age, so his sister's announcement of a pregnancy was confusing him. He was aware, of course, that babies came from people, he wasn't an infant himself, after all, he didn't believe that they just arrived in the night, but he was still shady on the exact details.

Not that David appeared willing to tell him, or anyone else. His older brother was roughly the same shape as a delicious red apple, and almost as shiny, a thin layer of sweat breaking out on his brow at the insistent gaze of a dozen or so younger boys, all of whom seemed determined to get him to explain the matter, posthaste.

"I, um...er..." David balked, his own limited experience with the subject matter leading him to stutter a bit, finally blurting out. "Ask Race. He'll explain it."

With a sigh, Les, nodded at the others, whispering as they walked off in search of Race. "I bet he doesn't know, either."

David, of course, heard them, and bellowed after them. "I do, too, know! I just don't want to explain it to you!"

Once they were out of earshot, Les added. "Ain't like he has a girlfriend..."

Racetrack was a bit harder to find than David had been, and it was almost evening when they finally found the Italian boy, walking home from the tracks with an upliftingly cheerful look on his face. Deciding that meant he'd be more willing to help, Les nudged Snipeshooter forward. Snipe cleared his throat, before holding out a cigar.

"Here's the deal. Explain how Sarah Sullivan got pregnant, and we'll give you this cigar."

Race blinked at the eager group of boys, eyes all wide, like baby chicks waiting for a juciy worm from a mama bird. His own cigar was almost a stump, and he did need a new one.

Finally, his hand snapped out at the same speed, and force as his voice, snagging the cigar before Snipe could pull it away. "They canoodled. They're allowed, they're married. You lot are not married, and won't be any time soon, so don't even worry about canoodling. Just know that girls are scary, but pretty, and you should keep your hands away from them, or risk a cranky mother cutting them off. Good? Good." Tucking the cigar into his pocket, he smirked, and moved to saunter away.

"Not so fast! Define canoodle!" Les grabbed Race's vest, and tugged, pouting.

Damnit, he knew that wasn't going to work. With a sigh, Race turned around and gave them all a stern look. "When a man and a woman love each other, they go to bed together. Naked. That's all you really need to know. It's all instinct after that. But don't you dare try it before you're married." Not advice he was inclined to follow himself, of course, unless the girl in question was a good girl, but the girls he hung around with tended not to be. Not that the boys needed to know that. "And if you have any more questions, ask Blink."

"I want that cigar back!" Snipe growled, his eyes narrowing. "You didn't tell us nothin."

"I told you how she got pregnant, you little brat. It's mine, now." Whistling cheerfully to himself, Race sauntered off into the evening, leaving the group of boys a bit disheartened.

"Where's Blink then?" Boots asked, lightly, and somewhat hopelessly.

"In the lodging house. C'mon." At the lead of the pack, Les took off at a run, back to the lodging house, to find the blond boy with the eyepatch.

Blink was on his bunk, humming to himself while flipping through a penny dreadful about a monstrous villain who slashed at the skirts of women in the streets of London so he could see their underclothes. He almost didn't notice the boys until they completely encircled his bunk. Putting his book down, he arched his eyebrow. "What's goin on?"

"Tell us how my sister got pregnant. And don't tell us it was that she and Jack were canoodling. Race tried that. It doesn't make sense." Les's voice was firm, and demanding.

"Um..." Blink blinked at them, glancing around the circle, trying to gague how old they were, before sighing, and sitting up. "Look. There are...parts on a boy that stick out when you think about pretty girls, right? And there are parts on a girl in the same general place that don't stick out. The parts that stick out go in the parts that don't stick out. A lot. And then, nine months later, there's a baby. It comes out of the same place, on a girl. We all set? Good. Now, leave me alone, I was just getting to the good part." He flopped back down, intent on ignoring them, and going back to his damn book.

Several of the boys looked thoughtful, but Les, and most of the others, just looked horrified. Part of a girl that didn't stick out? And the parts of them went in? A lot? And then a baby came out of there? That was disgusting!

"Ugh! Girl are so gross!" Shuddering, Les made a face, sticking his tongue out.

Absently, Blink waved his hand at him, already back to reading. "Yeah, they like that, too. The tongue thing."

Les's tongue snapped back into his mouth so fast you'd think it was rubber, stretched too far. Eyes wide as saucers, he turned red, and then white, and then red again, thinking about that, before going a little green. "I am never, ever, ever getting married." He declared.

Blink laughed at that, as the boys started to disperse, each going their own way to process the information they'd been given. For his part, Les ran home to his mother, trying not to think about the fact that his parents had...canoodled, in order to have him, and his brother, and his sister. The whole thing was just too gross from his to properly think about. He'd stick to his toy sword, and make believe, thank you very much.


End file.
